A second person in the Republic has died of Legionnaires' disease, it emerged this evening.
The man died two weeks ago in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin according to the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA).
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Ms Maureen Browne, communications officer with the ERHA, said that the man had acquired the disease in the community but that it was an isolated case.
It is understood he first became ill in early March just before he was admitted to hospital.
The news follows yesterday's report that a woman in her 60s died from the disease in Waterford Regional Hospital on Sunday.
It is believed she could have contracted the disease from a shower at the hospital.
The Minister for Health Mr Micheál Martin has ordered a full report from the South Eastern Health Board.
The Minister this evening defended his handling of a fatal case of Legionnaires' disease in Waterford.
Mr Martin said that his department was notified last week that a patient was being treated for the disease at the hospital.
He said that in an incident of an isolated case of infectious disease, when it is believed there are no further public health implications, it is not appropriate to breach patient confidentiality by releasing any details of the case.
Opposition politicians criticised Mr Martin for his handling of the cases. Fine Gael health spokesperson Ms Olivia Mitchell questioned the delay in releasing information on tests to determine the source of the bug at Waterford Regional Hospital.
"Yesterday we were reassured that this was just an isolated case and that the source had been established," she said.
"Today we learn that there was a previous case, which was not reported to the relevant authorities."
Ms Mitchell accused the minister of misleading the public and said he had learnt nothing from last week's "SARS communications fiasco".
No instances of the deadly SARS virus have so far been confirmed in the Republic, but Mr Martin and the Government have come under fire for their handling of a number of high-profile suspect cases.
Labour's health spokesperson Liz McManus said: "The failure to disclose the Beaumont case of Legionnaires' Disease will further undermine public confidence in the ability of the health system to deal openly and effectively with the Sars threat.
"There are now clearly very serious communications problems within the health service that must be addressed by Minister Martin."
She added that the minister must clarify whether there had been any other deaths from Legionnaires' Disease that had not yet been made public.